NHL Hockey LIVE

 Tyson Fury returns to fight in the UK for the first time since 2018 to defend his WBC title against domestic rival Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.




The Gypsy King's homecoming has sold 94,000 tickets - the biggest crowd at a British fight in the 21st century.


Whyte, 34, is a big underdog in his first world title tilt, while Fury defends his WBC world title as well as his undefeated record.


We have asked big names from the world of boxing to choose who will win.


Fury lighter than Wilder fight for Whyte bout

The Sports Desk podcast: Kinahan, Fury and the state of boxing

How 'throwback fighter' Whyte became a world title contender

Steward on bond with heavyweight world champion Fury

Former two-weight world champion David Haye: "I think Dillian stops Tyson Fury on his feet late doors at some stage. If that happens, you would have to go for a rematch. Possibly even a trilogy with those two."


Trainer Dave Coldwell: "I hope it isn't a fight where Tyson is cagey and negative. As a fan I want to see them go at it. I'd like a more positive Fury to come out there to really try and put it on Dillian.


"It's an exciting match-up. For me, there's no clear favourite. Would I say Dillian is an underdog, yes I would, but I would say he's a live dog."



Britain's WBO super-welterweight champion Natasha Jonas: "I'm going for a Tyson Fury win. I've bet against him before and got it wrong so never again.


"How he wins depends on which Tyson turns up on the night."


Fury's coach SugarHill Steward: "I predict pain. Dillian is not a special talent of a fighter, but he's consistent with pressure and comes with a lot of power. You always have to watch out for Dillian."


British welterweight Conor Benn: "I wouldn't be surprised if Dillian Whyte [wins]. The [Deontay] Wilder fights have had a toll on Fury - he's been inactive for quite a while, so has Whyte. Whyte has got that dogfight in him, but so has Fury. I think Whyte is the bigger puncher of the two. I wouldn't be surprised if Whyte [wins], but I lean more towards Fury."


Doha News virtually sat down with El Arabi on 7 April, the United Nations’ International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, where he shared details of his film.


“The film’s idea is based on how sports can create peace, how it can build up a dream out of a place, be it India, Egypt or a refugee camp.”


As a sports enthusiast himself, El Arabi was eager to show the aspect of the industry that often goes unnoticed by following the stories of Syrian refugees seeking shelter in the Zaatari Camp in Jordan.


The story was born after El Arabi met Mahmoud Dagher and Fawzi Katlesh, two refugees with a shared dream of becoming famous football players to break their isolation from the rest of the world.


“The dream that they both had is what made me follow them and see how sports enhanced their personalities and made them more preserved and gave them, along with the rest of the camp, energy,” said El Arabi.


The two main subjects of the film were aged between 16-to-17 years at the time of the filming, which took seven years to make between 2013 and 2020.


The film follows the story of the two young men who try to make their dreams come to reality by participating in a Qatar-based programme led by Aspire Academy.


In Doha, the filmmaker received the assistance of Tariq Al Naama, Vice President of Aspire Zone Foundation and Mohammad Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, Acting CEO of Aspire Zone Foundation.


Sheikha Hessa Al Thani, Special envoy for the Arab League for Humanitarian Relief Affairs, also helped the filmmaker and his crew.


“They made it easier to receive filming access in Doha […] I always thank them and mention them in every awards ceremony, without them things would not have gone smoothly.”


On balancing emotions

Recounting the challenges that he encountered at the start of the filming process, El Arabi said that getting the people at the camp to open up to him was one that he faced.


“People who previously went to the camp would just ask some questions and use the people as numbers and leave[…] I went with my team and said I will stay for one year to build trust and a relationship with Mahmoud and Fawzi, and I did,” said El Arabi.


Gradually, the filmmaker became part of the family as the mothers of Mahmoud and Fawzi started asking El Arabi to stop by for lunch.


“We have an important thing as humans, the closer we get to the people the safer they feel,” he said.


El Arabi and members of his crew would get arrested at various points because the police often confused them with the refugees, due to how close they were to one another.


According to the UN, there are 81,242 refugees at the Zaatari Camp, displaced by the war waged by the Bashar Al Assad regime.


With the emotional weight of the stories of each person living in the camp and as El Arabi formed an intimate relationship to the main characters, and in found himself in a challenging position having to balance his emotions and duty as a filmmaker.


In one scene where Fawzi’s father was crying upon receiving bad news, El Arabi had no other option but to drop his director’s slate aside.


“I felt that he needed someone to be with him and I ruined many scenes because I would enter the frame and hug people and try to find solutions,” he said.


A life coach has helped El Arabi along with the crew to balance their emotions throughout the entire filming process.


“A director would see everything around them with the aim of creating a successful film, but this one was difficult because as humans, we get emotional from the things happening around us,” he said.


However, El Arabi believes that the raw emotions felt by the crew and the characters played a major role in the film’s success.


“People can tell how much I loved them [the characters] and I’m still in touch with them. I was just on the phone with them for half an hour and I see that our relationship is what created the film, along with the professionalism.”


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Argentina vs Venezuela: TV channel, live stream, team news & preview

Collegefootball Official line-ups Real Betis-Fiorentina: agreeable pre-season 2022

2022 March Madness live stream: NCAA Tournament TV schedule, watch basketball streaming online Thursday